The web of deception
by Hecate28
Summary: Multi-Chapte fic. A chance encounter is how it all started but little did they know the thread of lies it would untangle.
1. Chapter 1

_A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable. ~William Wordsworth_

Harry's feet pounded the pavement as he stepped out into the crisp autumn morning for his daily jog. He shivered slightly as a sharp breeze started to pick up and wrap its icy grasp around him. Harry ran on down to the river, the lapping sound of the water was in harmony with his footsteps and he found peace at once being one of the few up in the early morning. As he turned a corner he skidded to a halt, wildly swinging his arms to keep his balance as he stared up at what had caused this emergency stop.

Up on the bridge the linked either side of the river bank stood a figure rocking backwards and forwards getting dangerously close to the edge. Harry felt his heart in his throat as he slowly crept forwards

"Hello?" he called loudly to attract the figures attention "Are you alright?"

The figure turned and as Harry got closer he could see it was a female "Don't come any closer!" she screamed

"Okay" Harry said slowly, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm "I'm Harry, what's your name?"

"Go away" the girl screeched and started rocking faster and faster on the balls of her feet.

It was at that point Harry noticed she was bare foot. Dressed in a long black skirt that fell just to her ankles, her bare feet were covered in dirt. A black peasant blouse covered her top half and as Harry studied her closer he saw she had smears of red on her arms. Her dark hair flickered over her face and as she flicked it out of the way, he got a closer look at the red; blood, Harry recognised the sticky substance immediately smeared up the girl's arms

"Please…" Harry begged taking a tentative step forward "Please don't jump"

"Go away" she shouted back,

He took another step forward and she turned her face back to looking down at the murky depths of the river. Closer and closer he came until he was level with her. Hoisting himself up to edge of the bridge he stood up next to her

"Are you just admiring the view or are you going to jump?" he asked but to no reply "Please don't jump" he begged but the girl continued to rock backwards and forwards

She clamped her hands over her ears and started to moan "Shut up, shut up" she began to repeat in a mantra

"It's okay" Harry soothed but the girl seemed distant now

"I can't do it" she shouted rocking faster and faster now

Harry opened him mouth to reply but the girl continued in a bizarre one sided conversation

"I cant do it…Stop shouting, please…I can't do it….please…I know what you said but I can't do it…"

She gestured madly as if she was arguing with someone but apart from Harry they were alone

"You made me do it…I didn't want too…please don't make me do it…." The girl paused suddenly and the silence was counted by a measure of the pounding of Harry's heart in his chest

"Please come down…" Harry said breaking the silence and the girl looked up at him suddenly like she was coming out of the trance

"Help me" she begged

"Okay" Harry said calmly "Just come down and we can talk"

"No" the girl shook her head wildly "That won't stop them, make them stop please" she said starting to cry

"Who?" Harry questioned

"I didn't want to do it" the girl said taking a step closer towards the edge so she was only inches away from the drop "Please believe me…"

"I believe you" Harry said, he didn't know what she was going on about but he was trying everything to keep this girl talking

The girl let out a low wail and clamped her hands harder over her ears "No!" she wailed "Please stop"

It all happened in a flash, before Harry could even act. The girl flung herself over the edge of the bridge and she seemed to fall for an eternity before she hit the icy water with a splash. Harry's mind seemed to finally catch up with him and he could hear himself screaming after the young girl. He rushed back down to the riverbank calling out to someone, anyone to help him. He could see her outline in the water now sinking deeper and deeper into the depths. Harry waded into the water trying to ignore its freezing grasp. He took a deep breath and plunged into the depths of the river bank after this mysterious young girl.

**Author's note: So what do you think? Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

_Footfalls echo in the memory, down the passage which we did not take. Towards the door we never opened ~T.S. Eliot_

Harry slumped into the lab a few hours later and rested his head in his hands as the events of the morning replayed over in his mind

_Harry emerged breaking the still surface of the water, trying to pull the young girl up behind him. He glanced an early morning dog walker and called out to him_

"_Call an ambulance" Harry called as the man helped Harry and the unconscious girl out of the water_

"_What happened?" the dog walker asked looking concerned_

"_She jumped" Harry said trying to catch his breath_

_He turned his attention at once to the girl and noticed that her chest was still. Harry leant down towards her and his fears were confirmed; she wasn't breathing. As he started to try and resuscitate her, he was mildly aware of the dog walker calling for an ambulance _

"_Come on!" Harry muttered starting compressions on the girl's chest _

_He continued to try and resuscitate her for what seemed like an eternity and just as he was on the brink of giving up. The girl coughed up a large amount of water and was consequently sick on the riverbank_

"_You're okay" Harry said breathing a sigh of relief as he hurried to take off his jacket and wrap it over the girl to keep her warm whilst they waited for the ambulance to arrive_

"_No!" the girl spluttered as she started to come round a bit more_

"_Its okay love, the ambulance is on its way" the dog walker said gently_

"_No!" the girl screamed and tried to scramble to her feet "No!" she was still screaming as she tried to crawl over to the riverbank_

_Harry sprang into action and managed to grab her in time before she threw herself back into the river_

"_Its okay" he said wrapping his arms around her to keep her still_

_The girl flailed around in his arms, still screaming wildly but Harry kept his tight grip on her as the sound of ambulance sirens got louder and louder but even that could not block out the piercing fearful scream of the young girl._

"Harry?" someone called to him breaking him out of his trance and he looked up to see Nikki standing in front of him with a worried look on her face

"Hi" he said weakly before Nikki launched herself on him and embraced him tightly in a hug

"I was so worried about you" she said, the emotion breaking in her voice

"We both were" another voice came and Harry looked over Nikki's shoulder to see Leo standing there with a similar expression of worry to Nikki

"Are you okay?" Nikki asked pulling away from him slightly

"I'm fine" Harry said although he wasn't sure of he believed it himself

"What happened?" Nikki asked perching on his desk

"I was out jogging…there was a girl standing on top of the bridge…I tired to talk her down but she…she jumped" Harry said stumbling over his words "I…I went in after her"

"Harry, you could have been killed!" Leo exclaimed

"I couldn't leave her in there" Harry protested

"I'm glad you're safe" Nikki said giving him a gentle smile

"She was terrified" Harry said sounding distant "I couldn't talk her down"

"It's not your fault" Leo said gently "You still managed to save her life"

"She was terrified" Harry repeated

"Doctor Cunningham?" the three pathologists turned around to see a police officer standing there with his hat in his hands "I'm PC Davis; I need to speak to you about the incident this morning"

"Of course" Harry said standing up and running a hand through his hair

"Use my office Harry" Leo said gently and Harry nodded his thanks "And after you've finished I want you to go home"

Harry began to protest but Leo gave him such a stern look he knew not to argue, but instead led the police officer into Leo's office and closed the door behind him

"Poor Harry" Nikki sighed "That couldn't have been easy for him"

"He could have got himself killed" Leo shook his head

"He couldn't leave her in the water" Nikki echoed Harry's argument

"Harry's not going to leave this alone now" Leo sighed

"It probably brought up unwanted memories of his father" Nikki nodded as they watched Harry in deep conversation with the police officer.


	3. Chapter 3

_Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught. ~Honoré de Balzac_

Harry watched as PC Davis scribbled down his statements of events in a battered looking notebook

"Is she alright?" he asked and the officer looked up

"She's doing well" PC Davis said after a pause "She swallowed a lot of water but if you hadn't gotten to her so quickly it would have been a lot worse"

"But…" Harry said pre-empting that the officer wasn't telling him something

"Did she tell you anything about herself?" PC Davis asked him and Harry shook his head "Well when she got to the hospital one of the doctor's recognised her immediately"

"Is she a regular?" Harry asked

"I shouldn't even really be telling you this" the PC sighed "But I think you're already more involved in the case than you think. The doctor recognised her from the last time he treated her when she was brought in from another suicide attempt. Her name is Isabelle and she's on our missing person's database"

"Did she run away from home?" Harry asked

PC Davies shook his head "She ran away from Mayflower Adolescent Unit, she was sectioned under the mental health act, six months ago. She's been missing two weeks to the day you found her"

Harry sighed "I don't understand what this has to do with me. Surely she has family who are more involved with her?"

"That's the thing Harry; we got a call out this morning….her family were found dead this morning, murdered whilst sleeping in their beds. Their bodies are being bought to the morgue now."

"And you think it was her?" Harry asked looking shocked

"You told me she had blood smeared up her arms and when she was checked over by the doctor she was not injured, she's been missing two weeks and we know from the psychologists report that she had a hostile relationship with her immediate family and she has a history of violent and unpredictable behaviour"

PC Davis stood up as he made his way to leave followed by Harry "What happened to innocent until proven guilty?" the pathologists called after the officer

The man shrugged and called over his shoulder "Like I said the bodies are coming in now, I'm sure you'll find the necessary evidence you need" he said walking out of the lab leaving a fuming and shaken Harry behind him

…………………………………………………………………………………………

A couple of hours later, Leo came out of his office and sighed when he saw Harry still at his desk working away

"I thought I told you to go home" Leo said

"I can't" Harry muttered through gritted teeth

"Harry, I can't let you do those autopsies, you're already too involved in the case, and it's a conflict of interest"

"He's already sure it was her and he's going to do anything to make sure her card is marked" Harry said angrily

"Who?"

"PC Davis" Harry replied "The girl I found this morning, her name is Isabelle and she'd run away from a mental health unit. She's apparently got a history of mental health problems and today her family was found dead and I found her with blood smeared up her arms"

Leo sighed "And as far as the police are concerned she's their main suspect"

Harry nodded "She's their only suspect. Leo she was so terrified when I found her…she's a vulnerable young girl…."

"Leo?" Nikki called stepping into the lab "The bodies are here"

Harry stepped in front of Leo and out towards the cold storage where the bodies were kept

"Harry, I can't let you do this" Leo called

"I have to see" Harry argued

Leo and Nikki exchanged knowing looks and eventually Leo gave him the nod of approval. Three body bags lay in the trolleys and as each one was unzipped the three pathologists were taken back in shock. Each body had the throat slit and on closer inspection when the pathologists looked into the mouths of the victims they saw a bloody mess where the tongue should have been.

"Oh god…" Nikki said covering a gloved hand over her mouth

"Do you see what I mean?" The three pathologists turned around to see PC Davies stood there with a man in a dark suit who introduced himself as Detective Ryan

"We have no proof it was Isabelle who did this" Harry retorted

Detective Ryan shot a warning look to PC Davies "Of course not" he assured Harry "At this stage she's only a potential suspect, we haven't had the chance to interview her yet and as the law states; innocent until proven guilty"

"Unless you're a nutcase like her" PC Davies muttered under his breath so quietly that only Harry caught it

The young pathologists stalked out of the lab seething with rage. He could not understand how they could be so prejudicial against this young girl when she needed their help not their accusations. He wasn't going to sit back and let them drag her name through the mud on the basis of a gut feeling. Harry was sure there was something more to this case and the ore he thought about it, the more driven he was when he remembered the look of pure fear on Isabelle's eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

_The friend is the one who knows all about you, and still likes you. ~Elbert Hubbard, __The Notebook__, 1927_

"Harry?" Nikki said running after him as he re-entered the main lab "You shouldn't let him get to you"

"They've already made up their mind about her" Harry spat sitting down at his desk "They should be protecting her not turning her into a criminal. It's all circumstantial evidence anyway"

"I know…" Nikki soothed sitting on the corner of Harry's desk

"She was so terrified" Harry said, his voice nearly breaking with emotion "She begged me to help her"

"Correct me if I'm wrong Harry" Nikki said choosing her words carefully "But it's not PC Davis that's got you so wound up but it's because she reminds you of your father"

Harry looked up in shock "How did you…?" he shook hid head "You know me too well"

Nikki chuckled "Is that such a bad thing?"

"No…" he replied gazing at her "Not at all…."

Nikki was about to say something when Leo walked into the lab and the moment was broken between them

"How do the bodies look?" Nikki asked

"Pretty grim" Leo said frowning "The police don't seem to be looking into anyone else as a suspect apart from Isabelle"

"Why?" Nikki asked noticing that Harry had tensed at what Leo was telling them

"Apparently she's got a history of violent behaviour and someone saw a young girl matching her description leaving the family home this morning"

Harry sighed and put his head in his hands

"It doesn't mean she did it Harry" Nikki said trying to soothe him

"No, because they've already made her mind up about her anyway" Harry said not moving from his position

"Which unit is she staying at?" Leo asked trying to quickly change the subject

"Mayflower Adolescent Unit" Harry said remembering what the officer had told him earlier

Leo nodded deep in thought "I have an old friend who's a psychologist. He specialises in working with adolescents. Last I heard from him he was working at Mayflower…it might be a long shot but there's a good chance he still work there"

"So?" Harry questioned

"He's not one to judge anyone. He'll always stay impartial and if we can get him on the case then we'll at least have someone fighting Isabelle's corner"

"Really?" Nikki asked and Leo nodded

"I'm going to make some phone calls" Leo called as he walked back to his office "Nikki, can you start the post-mortems please"

"Sure" she called back before turning back to Harry "See things aren't nearly as bad as you first thought" she smiled

"Thanks Nikki"

"What for?" she questioned

"For putting up with me and picking me up when I'm doing a rather good impression of a grumpy old man"

Nikki laughed "Don't mention it" she grinned "You can make it up to me with a drink sometime"

She left the lab leaving Harry reeling at her offer. He watched her walk out the room and couldn't help but smile; she was the only one in the world who knew how to pull him out of self-destruct mode, keep him on the straight and narrow and still leave him with a smile on his face after all of it.

A few minutes later Leo poked his head out of his office and called to Harry. When the younger man had closed the door behind him Leo began to remit details of his phone call

"Doctor Martin Smith, an old friend who I did some training with, the one I told you about is still working at Mayflower" Leo told him

"That's great. Does he know Isabelle?"

Leo nodded "He's part of a team that each resident has to support and work with them. Tomorrow I've got an appointment there to get a DNA sample from Isabelle and he's assured me its fine of you want to come along with me. Officially you'll be helping me with taking samples but Martin thinks it might be good for Isabelle to see a friendly face. She's been somewhat distressed since they brought her back to the unit"

"Thank you" Harry grinned getting up

"Now Harry…" Leo began

"What?" Harry said turning back towards the older man

"Will you please go home now?" he begged with an expression of exasperation on his face, Harry nodded and started to make his way out of the lab, his mind still reeling from the events of the day.


	5. Chapter 5

_Madness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through. ~R.D. Laing, __The Politics of Experience__  
_

The next morning Leo and Harry pulled up outside Mayflower Adolescent Unit, Nikki had volunteered to stay behind and finish the post-mortems leaving Harry and Leo to visit the unit on their own. The unit itself was a fairly modern red brick building surrounded by neatly cut lawns. It would have been a tranquil place were it not for the high wire fence surrounding the area and the surely looking security guard at the gate.

The two pathologists were met by an older looking gentleman at the door. He had a kind face and warmly introduced himself as Doctor Martin Smith to Harry after himself and Leo had exchanged greetings. They were taken into the unit through a long corridor and paused outside the door whilst Martin punched the key code into the door

"We have to have pretty high security" he explained "After all these are vulnerable youngsters"

"How did Isabelle get though then?" Harry asked

Martin smiled "She's a very determined girl once she sets her mind to things"

The trio entered Martin's office and they all took seats whilst Martin pulled a thick looking file out of a draw

"I think I need to explain about Isabelle before you meet her. I don't know if you'll be able to get much out of her, most days she just tends to keep herself to herself despite what anyone tries"

"How is she?" Harry asked

"Physically, a few bruises and a mouthful of river water aside she's fine. Mentally, I really don't know; she's been in a state since she was brought back here and she's not spoken to anyone"

"I assume you've heard about the incident?" Harry asked and Martin nodded

"Leo filled me in on your meeting with her and the death of her family. I must say Harry it was very commendable of you jumping in after her like that, you saved her life"

"I didn't stop her from jumping though" Harry said bitterly

"I think she would have jumped no matter what you said. When Isabelle gets in a state like that, wild horses wouldn't stop whatever it is she wanted to do"

"Why was she put in here in the first place?" Leo asked

"A little over six months ago, the police were alerted to the family home following a disturbance. Apparently an argument had gotten out of hand and Isabelle had attacked her family; namely mother, father and brother. She'd disappeared after that and when the police founds her she was attempting to throw herself onto some nearby train tracks. Once they'd gotten her to safety, she was taken to hospital where it was clear she was in an extremely distressed condition. They sent for me to do a psychological assessment and along with my colleagues we decided it would be best to section her for a short time"

"We were told she'd been here for nearly six months" Leo said frowning

Martin nodded "When she was eventually calmer and we are able to sit down and talk, I asked her why she attacked her family and she told me that someone told her to do it. I questioned her further but she seemed to clam up with any member of staff that watched over her"

"So what did you do?" Harry asked

"We thought maybe that if we brought a member of the family in with her it might make her feel more relaxed than in a room full of strangers. But when we brought the mother in, it seemed to trigger what I can only call a psychotic episode. She attacked her mother in a violent rage" Martin winced "We pulled Isabelle off her and we ended up having to sedate her"

"And that's when the decision was made to section her for longer" Leo asked and Martin nodded

"I met with her family and they told me that Isabelle had been getting steadily worse for a number of years. She'd talk to herself a lot and had a lot of these psychotic episodes full of hallucinations and delusions. Not always but sometimes did they end in violence but like I said she doesn't always talk so it's been hard to get a full and valid diagnosis"

"Is she on any medication?" Leo asked

Martin nodded "She's on anti-psychotics and anti-depressants among other things. When she's on medication she's fine but if, like any medication, it is suddenly stopped things can go wrong very fast."

"Do you think she killed her family?" Leo questioned

Martin sighed "She has a tendency to be violent but not on the scale you told me about. I don't think that even when she's not on medication like she had been when she got out of those two weeks that she would ever be capable of such things"

"If she's such a vulnerable young girl, how could she go missing for two weeks and the police not pick her up?" Harry asked

"You tell me" Martin shook his head "We phoned the police to raise the alarm as soon as she was discovered missing. A PC Davis came to us but he didn't seem entirely sympathetic" Martin sighed

"It figures" Harry said bitterly

At once there was a knock at the door and a young male nurse poked his head through "Doctor Smith" he said sounding breathless "Please come quickly, its Isabelle…."


	6. Chapter 6

"_Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before"~ Edgar Allen Poe 'The Raven'_

The three doctors followed the male nurse out into the corridor and into a small side room

"This is Isabelle's room" Martin explained "At the moment she's on suicide watch and being looked after by Jack here" he said motioning to the nurse

Martin opened the door to Isabelle's room and the group stepped inside. Harry felt his heart break when he saw the young girl inside.

Isabelle was sitting in the centre of a small room that had been turned upside down in a rage. The bed covers had been ripped off the bed and now Isabelle was busy tearing the stuffing out of the duvet cover as she rocked backwards and forwards.

"Through me you pass into the city of woe: Through me you pass into eternal pain: Through me among the people lost for aye" she chanted

"How long has she been like this?" Martin asked the nurse

"She woke up about twenty minutes ago and just started to get herself worked up into this state" he answered

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd: To rear me was the task of power divine, Supremest wisdom, and primeval love" the chant continued

"What is she speaking about?" Jack asked

The group listened to her further as she continued to chant "Before me things create were none, save things, Eternal, and eternal I endure. All hope abandon ye who enter here"

"It's Dante" Harry informed the group "The Divine Comedy"

"Such characters in colour dim I mark'd. Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd: Whereat I thus: Master, these words import" Isabelle fell silent but continued to rock backwards and forwards

"Isabelle…" Martin said crouching down in front of her "Talk to me Isabelle"

The young girl's head snapped upwards and she glanced across the group before fixing her eyes on Harry "Out dammed spot, out I say!" she started to rub up and down her arms where smears of blood had been when Harry had last seen her

"That's from 'Macbeth' isn't it?" Jack asked and Martin nodded

"Isabelle" Martin said more firmly and the girl fixed her eyes upon him "Will you let these men take a DNA sample from you"

The young girl shook her head as if coming out of a trance and nodded slowly

"Good girl" Martin said smiling encouragingly as he led her out of her room and into what Harry and Leo assumed was the unit's infirmary

Martin led Isabelle over to the bed where she hopped onto it leaving her legs to swing over the sides whilst Leo prepared the swab

"The medication we've got her started back on seems to be taking effect" Martin said quietly to Harry "But she's still very distressed from what she's been through hence her unusual behaviour"

"I've never met anyone who is able to spout prose and poetry like that" Harry said looking over at Isabelle who was watching Leo with a hawk like gaze

"She is an intelligent one" Martin nodded "When she gets upset she retreats into this fantasy world and she'll communicate through oblique references, anything from lines from a soap opera to the work of Shakespeare"

"Okay Isabelle" Leo said moving slowly towards her so to not scare her "I just need you to open your mouth and I'm going to put this swab in to take some DNA"

Isabelle sat there with her mouth shut firmly and Leo glanced across at Martin

"Isabelle…" Martin said trying to catch the girl's attention that was firmly fixed on the pathologists "Leo's a friend, he won't hurt you"

The young girl ran a hand through her tangled hair and whimpered slightly before finally going in and nodding. Leo gently held the bottom of her jaw open whilst he swabbed inside her cheek

"Alone done" he said removing the swab and Isabelle closed her mouth quickly

"Good girl" Martin said encouragingly "Leo, do you think I can have a quick word outside?"

The older man nodded and stepped outside the door with Martin, the door remained open so they could observe the interaction between Harry and Isabelle but they were far enough away so their conversation couldn't be overheard.

"You gave me quite a scare" Harry said to Isabelle whose gaze had dropped to the floor

"Why didn't you let me go?" She said looking up at him and Harry could see the tears forming in her eyes

"I'm not going to let you throw your life away" Harry said simply

"You have no idea what you've done" Isabelle said grimly "They won't ever stop now; whispering and hissing away, they won't ever stop. I've heard their cruel ways and I could have stopped them…" Isabelle pressed a clenched fist to her forehead and moaned loudly

"Who?" Harry asked

"I can hear them" Isabelle whined "They're so loud and jumbled up…please speak one at a time…"

At that moment Leo and Martin came back in the room and turned to Harry

"We've got a little conspiracy to keep the police away from her for a while longer" Martin told the younger pathologist

"Good" Harry nodded

"The problem is if she won't let us help her then she's going to be at the mercy of people like PC Davis…" Martin sighed

"What's your plan?" Harry asked

"Well, feel free to say no but I have the feeling that you might be the key to getting Isabelle to open up" Martin said ominously leaving Harry looking quite shocked.


	7. Chapter 7

_Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out. ~Michael Burke_

As soon as Harry and Leo re-entered the lab later that afternoon they were met by Nikki who looked exhausted

"I finished all three of the post-mortems" she said running a hand through her hair

"Good work Nikki" Leo said as they gathered in Leo's office to put together what they knew at the present time "What did you find?"

"Well…" Nikki began "All three had been killed in the same way. Their throats had been slashed, the incision went through the jugular and obviously the mass blood loss would have been the cause of death. The tongues had been cut out post-mortem and both cuts were wild and uncontrolled"

"So the attack was violent…" Leo said and Nikki nodded "Were the tongues recovered?"

"No" Nikki shook her head "They weren't found at all"

"What about the weapon?" Harry asked "Are we talking knife, scalpel or cleaver?"

"Some sort of blade" Nikki said "The attack was violent and frenzied and it left the bodies on a complete state so it will take some time to analyse"

"We'll run Isabelle's DNA against any found on the body to see if there is a definite match" Leo said as Harry and Nikki left his office

"How did your meeting with Doctor Smith go?" Nikki asked as they retreated to the privacy of their desks

"It was very informative" Harry said nodding, obviously deep in thought

"Did you see Isabelle again?" Nikki asked and Harry nodded "How was she?"

"Distressed, scared, probably traumatised from everything she's gone through" Harry sighed

"Poor girl" Nikki shook her head

"They've put her back on the medication but she still seems very detached from reality. Whatever she went through in those two weeks must have really traumatised her…"

"…And now this retreat back into her mind is the only way for her to deal with things" Nikki finished and Harry nodded

"She's a very intelligent girl; whilst Leo and I were there she was quoting passages from Dante and Shakespeare" he said and Nikki was sure she heard an element of pride in his voice

"Do you think she did it?" Nikki asked cautiously

Harry sighed "When I saw her up on the bridge. I saw a terrified young girl who was set on ending her life. Something has really spooked her and I know everyone says she's got violent tendencies but all I can see is a frightened, vulnerable young girl who needs help. I can't see a murderer in her…." His sentence trailed off leaving a moment of tender silence between the pair

"But she had blood on her" Nikki said quietly and Harry nodded

"And the evidence seems to be pointing to her and her psychological profile seems to fir but when you meet her face to face, all you see is the frightened young girl"

"What do you head and your heart say?" Nikki asked

Harry scoffed with laughter "Nikki…" he began

"I'm serious Harry" she said and he could see the look in her eyes that meant he was not to argue

"My head is telling me the facts and the facts point to Isabelle as the suspect" Harry sighed

"And your heart?"

"My heart is telling me that she didn't do this. It's telling me that she might be violent but not on this level. My heart is telling me that a girl who is so determined to end her life because she's too scared to deal with reality could not be capable of such violence" Harry said

Nikki moved away from her desk and over to his embracing Harry in a gentle hug as a few stray tears leaked from his face

"They all said my dad was this raving psychopath" Harry said his voice trembling with emotion "And yes he sometimes had moments of rage but deep down that didn't change that fact he was a caring and loving person. It didn't change the fact he was my dad"

"It's okay" Nikki soothed him as he clung onto her "This will all get sorted out. Harry your gut instinct is as good as anyone's and if you are telling me she's innocent then I believe you"

"Thank you" Harry said pulling away from her and sniffing back a few tears before Nikki could see them

"Now what about that drink?" she grinned

"I'm not in the mood to go out" Harry mumbled

"Well it's a good thing I've got a bottle of wine in my desk" Nikki laughed and Harry chuckled

"Why don't I have a bottle of wine in my desk?" he said and Nikki grinned

"We've had this conversation before" she said, her voice light with laughter and Harry found that soon her too was laughing along with Nikki and just for those few moments as they sat in compatible company, Harry felt that maybe, just maybe things would turn out well.


	8. Chapter 8

_Truth only reveals itself when one gives up all preconceived ideas. ~Shoseki_

The next day Harry pulled up outside Mayflower adolescent unit trying to ignore the pounding in his head. He'd spent the evening with Nikki and a bottle of wine and as usual they'd drunk a little too much. He smiled at the memory of the cheerful evening and wondered how Nikki was coping having to face Leo with a hangover. As he climbed out of his car he was met by Martin Smith who gave him a tired looking smile as they greeted each other.

"How is she?" Harry asked, since he met her, he'd hardly been able to shift thoughts of Isabelle out of his head

"Still distressed" Martin sighed as they made their way inside "Last night we had a slight incident with her"

"What kind of incident?" Harry said looking worried

"When one of our nurses went to check on her, they'd found she'd cut herself" Martin frowned

"What with?" Harry asked

"The casing of a ball point pen which she'd snapped in half" Martin grimaced "She's spent the night in the infirmary so I'm not sure what state she'll be in"

"I'll try to help the best I can" Harry told the doctor and Martin nodded gratefully

"I know this is rather unorthodox but she seems to open up more around you than anyone else around here. We need to know the truth before she falls at the hands of the police and PC Davis"

Harry nodded and the two of the walked in silence to the door of the infirmary where they were met by Jack, the nurse that Harry had met on his first visit to the unit with Leo

The men greeted each other and Martin turned to Jack to get an update on Isabelle "How is she?" he asked

"She's okay…" Jack replied slowly "She woke up about forty-five minutes ago; I don't think she had much sleep though. When I took over from the night staff, one of the nurses told me it took them about three hours to calm her down last night after they'd found her"

"Has she had her medication this morning?" Martin asked

"Not yet, I was just about to give it to her now" he said motioning to the small packet of pills in his hand

Martin turned to Harry "I'll be back in a few minutes, I just need to pick up her file but Jack's here if you need anything" Harry nodded in response and Martin left them and hurried down the corridor out of sight

As Harry and Jack made their way into the infirmary, the nurse turned to Harry

"Thank you" he said quietly

"For what?" the pathologists asked

"For not giving up on her and not judging her" Jack smiled "She's a good kid, she's just had a rough time of it recently"

"Haven't we all" Harry said and Jack let out a small chuckle as he led Harry over to Isabelle.

The young girl was sitting up in the bed with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head tucked firmly out of sight. She was making small whimpering noises as she rocked a little, back and forwards. Harry could see her wrists were covered in a layer of bandages and he remembered what Martin had told him about how Isabelle ended up in the infirmary

"Belle" Jack called to the young girl, using a shortened version of her name which Harry agreed much suited her

The girl made a small whimpering sound much like that of a puppy and Jack perched on her bed to try and coax her into taking her medication

"Belle, you've got to take your meds." He said gently but she gave no response "I know you don't like it but the sooner you take it the sooner it will be over"

Suddenly Isabelle seemed aware of another presence in the room and she looked up and fixed her gaze on Harry

"Hi" he said and the girl cocked her head on one side, clearly deep in thought

"Harry's come to see you" Jack told the young girl "He wants to talk to you"

Isabelle rubbed her forehead with her hand and groaned slightly

"Are they talking to you again Belle?" Jack asked gently and she nodded "If you take these pills then they'll stop for a bit"

"They never stop" Isabelle said in a husky voice, slightly croaky from disuse "They're always there not matter how many pills you stuff into my system"

"Belle, please take your medication. It'll make you feel miles better"

Isabelle ran a hand over her forehead again and winced as if she was in pain

"Harry's come to help you Belle" Jack told her and Isabelle looked up with a startled expression on her face

She looked to Harry who gave a nod and a small smile to confirm this. Her gaze travelled to Jack who was pouring out water into a small plastic cup. Still slightly in shock from the revelation she accepted the cup with shaking hands and Jack pushed a colourful array of pills into her hands. She gulped down a sip of water and under the watchful eye of Jack she took the pills

"Swallow" Jack prompted as he saw Isabelle start to gag slightly

She spluttered a little bit of water down her front but the medication had entered her system without too much of a struggle.

Isabelle looked up at Harry and sadly proclaimed "See, the system always gets you in the end"


	9. Chapter 9

_Poetry is what gets lost in translation. ~Robert Frost_

Martin soon re-entered the room and after signing a few forms to release Isabelle from the infirmary he led the young girl and Harry down the endless maze of corridors each as starch white and bland as the next one

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, A stately pleasure-dome decree :Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man" Isabelle mumbled quietly

Harry turned to look at Isabelle as she started to spout poetry once more but her face was cold and expressionless as the medication took effect.

They eventually came to a room which Harry recognised as Isabelle's own personal room in the unit. As they entered the room Harry noticed that the room had been put back together after Isabelle's outburst when he first met her. He gazed around the room saddened at how impersonal the starch white walls seemed. He turned back to Isabelle who had placed herself on the bed and was currently involved in tracing a pattern on the duvet cover with her finger. Harry placed himself on a stool offered by Martin who had left them alone together not before pointing out the small security camera in the corner of the room that was watching their every move in case any trouble arose.

"Did you notice the door?" Isabelle said suddenly and Harry looked at her quizzically "It opens in on the room. It means I can never barricade myself in here, it means they can get me any time they want"

"Who?" Harry asked

"The man." She stated "Management; the system. Just waiting for its chance"

"Belle" he said using the shorter version of her name which she seemed much more responsive to "Do you know what I do for a living"

Isabelle shook her head

"I'm a forensic pathologist; I try and work out how people die…" he paused to try and mentally prepare himself for what he was about to tell the young girl "I'm sorry I have to tell you this but you're family…they're dead"

He looked at the girl who had paused, all motion in her body and waited with baited breath for a response. A moment of silence passed before Isabelle finally spoke again

"Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and Immortality"

Harry smiled "Emily Dickinson" he said recognising the poem "Your knowledge of poetry and prose seems endless"

Isabelle just shrugged and carried on tracking a pattern on her duvet

"I wanted to talk to you because I want to find out what happened to your family and I think you might be able to help me"

Isabelle shook her head and started rubbing up and down her arms where the smears of blood had once been and now a layer of bandages were.

"Do you remember when we met on the bridge?" he prompted gently and she nodded "I was told that you'd run away from here and you'd been gone two weeks"

"One week, six days, eighteen hours and forty-six minutes actually" she scowled

Harry nodded "Why did you run away from here?"

"They told me too" Harry nodded again pleased that she seemed to be opening up more now

"The voices?" he questioned and this time is was her time to nod "Can you hear them now?"

She shook her head "The pills have subdued them but they'll be back cackling and whispering their evil little ways. You made sure of that" she said glaring at him

"Because I pulled you out of the river when you jumped?" he asked already pre-empting her response of affirmation "Isabelle, how did you get the blood on your arms?" he asked

Isabelle looked up at him and he could see the tears glistening in her eyes "I don't know" he simply stated, her voice quivering with a tremolo of emotion "But it won't come off"

Harry frowned as Isabelle started to unwrap the bandages on her wrists, as each layer came off, it started to reveal the sheer force Isabelle had used when cutting herself the previous night. The white linen was stained with blood and as the finally layer came off Harry could see the ferocious cuts up and down her arms. They had been stitched and cleaned but the skin was red and raw still. But as Harry gently inspected her arms he saw no smears of blood as she kept stating

"It wont come off" she said as a stray tears fell down her cheek "Here's the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand"

Harry sighed as she starting into a round of spouting poetry and prose once more

"What happened to you when you went missing" he said grimly as moved closer to her and took the stands of discarded bandages and gently started to re-dress the wounds, thankful for his medical training

Isabelle looked up at him evidently much calmer once her wrists had been covered

"I can't remember" she shook her head wildly

"But you remember meeting me?" he asked

Isabelle scrunched her eyes up tightly "I remember you talking to me and begging me to come down and then the voices got too loud and drowned you out. The next thing I remember is waking up on the grassy bank with you standing over me and then the ambulance came and they took me away"

"Do you remember anything before that?" he asked and she shook her head

As she opened her eyes, she froze and paled almost like she'd seen a ghost

"Isabelle?" Harry leant forward as the girl stared at him with a haunting look in her eyes

"Is this a dagger I see before me? The handle towards my hand" she spoke with perfect dramatic tension "Oh!" she suddenly broke out of the trance like state and griped onto Harry's hand

The pathologist tried not to flinch at her icy touch "I remember the knife…oh God the blood!" she gripped tighter onto his hand

As Harry looked down into the terrified girl's haunted eyes he placed his hands on top of hers in a protective stance. Whatever had happened had clearly spooked her and Harry was determined to find out the truth in the tangled web of reality and fantasy.


	10. Chapter 10

_All photos are accurate. None of them is the truth. ~Richard Avedon_

"Where's Harry?" Nikki asked coming walking into Leo's office, not even bothering to knock, which resulted in a reprimanding look from the professor

"You mean your partner in crime?" Leo said putting a newly finished report away in a file

"Sorry?" Nikki said looking up at him

"Don't think I didn't notice the hangover this morning" Leo said and Nikki bit her lip, slightly ashamed that she had been found out

"Sorry" she said bashfully and Leo chuckled amazed at how quickly Nikki could always work her way around him

"He's at Mayflower residential unit" Leo informed her "Isabelle seems to open up around Harry and it seems to be the only way we're going to get something out of her"

Nikki nodded "I got the DNA results back…" she said letting her sentence trail off as both pathologists looked down at the piece of paper in Nikki's hand

"What does it say?" Leo asked

Nikki sighed "There's traces of Isabelle's DNA all over the three bodies. Even taking into consideration any DNA transfer that comes from living in a close residence which is obviously lessened since she's been away six months, this is pretty conclusive"

Leo sighed as he saw the disappointment on Nikki's face "It doesn't mean she necessarily did it" he told her

Nikki shook her head "Like the police or the courts will believe that. Isabelle has a history of violent behaviour, her family are found dead and her DNA is all over the body. Later she's found with blood smeared up her arms. I hate to say it but its strong evidence against her"

"Did they ever get a sample of the blood?" Leo asked

Nikki shook her head for a second time "When she was taken to hospital and checked over, the doctor's had to wash away some of the blood to see if she was hurt at all"

"Then the blood could have come from anywhere" Leo speculated

"I suppose" Nikki agreed "But the police wont see it like that"

"That's because the police only look at the truth" a voice came and as the two pathologists looked up they saw PC Davis standing in the doorway

"Can I help you at all?" Leo said standing up and putting on a false smile even though Nikki knew he was seething with anger underneath at the intrusion of the office

"I'm looking for Doctor Cunningham" the officer said

"Well I'm sorry, but he's out at the moment" Leo said

"Where?" the question was rude and blunt

"On a case" Leo lied "He'll be back later, I'll tell him you called"

PC Davis gave a curt nod before turning to Nikki "Have you got the DNA results back yet?"

"No" she said quickly, surprised at how easily the lie came out "There's been a delay at the lab"

PC Davis frowned but continued "I thought you'd want to see these, it might help with the time of death" he passed a folder to Nikki who opened it, scanning over the contents

"What is it?" Leo asked

"CCTV stills showing Isabelle leaving the family home the same morning the bodies were found"

"I see…" Leo said betraying no emotion "Thank you"

PC Davis turned and left the lab and as soon as he was out of sight, Leo let out a sigh

"That man…" he began but was interrupted by Nikki

"Look…" she passed one sheet to Leo whose face dropped when he saw it.

The picture showed Isabelle making her way down the road with blood smeared up her arms and she was clutching a knife still glistening with the stain of fresh blood.


	11. Chapter 11

"_Secrets are made to be found out with time".__~ Charles Sanford_

Harry sighed loudly as he rang off the phone from a conversation with Leo who had just filled him in on the DNA results and the unfortunate meeting with PC Davis

"Is everything alright?" Martin Smith said coming up behind him

Harry shook his head "The DNA results have come back and Isabelle's DNA is all over the body and the police have CCTV stills of Isabelle leaving the scene of the crime covered in blood and carrying a knife"

"Oh god…" Martin said rubbing his temples "It's not looking good is it"

"Not really" Harry said bitterly "But it just doesn't add up, I can't imagine Isabelle could do this. She can't even remember doing it…."

"A repressed memory" Martin said "When someone has gone through trauma, their mind seems to block out the memories of the events to help protect the person from dealing with it…" he explained before quickly apologising "Of course you know all this"

"She started to remember…she told me there was a knife"

Martin nodded "We need to try and unlock these memories, we could try getting her to talk back through the bits she remembers and hopefully that might trigger some more"

Harry nodded and re-entered the room where Isabelle was still sitting on the bed, not having moved since he got there.

"Hi" he said sitting back down

Isabelle nodded and made a small noise which Harry assumed was a greeting

"Belle, can you talk to me about what you remember?"

"We've done this already" she said rubbing at her temples

"I know" Harry said gently "But can you go into any more detail, even if you think it might be insignificant. Tell me about the knife…"

"He took his vorpal sword in hand, long time the maxome foe he sought…" Isabelle started to rock backwards and forwards

"Who had the knife Belle?" Harry asked leaning forwards

"There was blood…." She said, suddenly stopping rocking "So, so much blood…"

"Your family?" he said and Isabelle slowly nodded

"Belle, listen to me…" Harry said slowly making sure he had her full attention "Did you pick up the knife?"

Isabelle looked at him with an expression of bewilderment on her face "I don't remember…"

"What do you remember?" Harry asked "When you ran away from here, where did you go?"

"Over the hills and far away, teletubbies come to play…" Isabelle chanted

"Did you go back to your home?"

Isabelle nodded slowly "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home"

"Why did you go home?" Harry asked

"I wanted some books" Isabelle said "There's nothing to read here"

"Okay" Harry said encouragingly, hoping they would finally get somewhere "Did you get any books?"

"No" Isabelle said elongating each letter "I couldn't find them"

"Where mum and dad at home?" Harry asked

"Yes" Isabelle said and she furrowed her brow "They weren't happy to see me. They started shouting; I don't like it when people shout…" Isabelle said and Harry could see the tears welling up in her eyes

"What did you do then?"

"I…don't remember" Isabelle said and the fear was evident in her voice

"Its okay" he soothed her "What do you remember?"

Isabelle giggled suddenly "I can't tell you?" she said, a wide grin spreading across her face "It's a secret"

"I can keep a secret" Harry said as the girl started to giggle louder

"Promise?" she asked and he nodded

Isabelle scrambled off the bed and walked over to a pile of clothes that Harry recognised as the ones she had been wearing when he first met her. She picked up the black skirt and Harry noticed for the first time that there was a pocket sewn into the side. Isabelle carefully scooped something into her hands and crawled back to the bed, still keeping her hands clasped tightly to her chest

"What's that Belle?" Harry asked and Isabelle giggled as she held out her clasped hands towards Harry

He moved forward and gently unclasped her hands and paled at the contents. In her hands were three human tongues.


	12. Chapter 12

_Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. ~Swedish Proverb_

Later that day, Harry was back in the lab and was still reeling from the day's events. He'd left Isabelle in a confused state and rushed back to the lab before the police could get wind of her secret.

"I'm sorry Harry" the younger man looked up to see Leo standing there with a grim look on his face "The tongues are from Isabelle's family…it's a match and there's not doubt about it"

Harry sighed loudly and buried his head in his hands "The police will tear her apart" he groaned

"There's not a lot more you can do, I'm afraid" Leo said sadly "I'm sorry Harry but the evidence is conclusive"

"I'm not giving up on her Leo!" Harry shouted "She was so terrified on that bridge and clearly determined to take her own life, it was the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last. The police will destroy her if they question her, she can't take it"

Leo laid a hand on the younger man's shoulder "Maybe its for the best, she can get help…"

"She didn't do it Leo!" Harry yelled standing up and brushing the hand from his shoulder "I don't believe it for a second"

"Don't or wont?" Leo asked

Harry shook his head "I'm not giving up on her Leo, she's been let down by the whole world and I will not be one of those people who just hurt and desert her"

He stormed out of the lab, hardly noticing where he was going. He only stopped when he collided into someone with a bump

"Ouch!" came the voice and when he looked up he saw Nikki rubbing her shoulder where she had collided with Harry

"Sorry" he murmured

Nikki looked up at him and she was sure she saw the beginnings of tears in his eyes "What happened?" she asked as they took a seat in the corridor

"We found the tongues" Harry told her quietly

"Where were they?" she asked

"Isabelle had them" he said shaking his head slightly

"Oh Harry…" Nikki sighed "I'm sorry…"

"She didn't do it" Harry said firmly "Nikki, I'm sure of it"

"I believe you" she told him "But if Isabelle didn't do it then who did?"

Harry paused for what seemed like an eternity "I don't know" was all he finally said

Nikki tucked her arm through Harry's in a comforting gesture and he gently leaned her head against her shoulder

"It's okay you know" she said gently

"Is it?" Harry questioned "I failed her Nikki…I let her down"

"No" Nikki shook her head "You did the complete opposite, you're helping her"

Harry nodded and the two of them sat in companionable silence before Harry spoke again

"I shouted at Leo" he said looking rather guilty

"I'm sure he'll get over it" Nikki chuckled "You're allowed a strop once in a while"

"A strop?" Harry said looking incredulously at Nikki "I'm a man, I don't throw strops"

Nikki laughed "Yes you do!"

Harry sighed and shook his head "Women!" was all he said and this comment was followed by a swift slap on the arm from Nikki which made Harry recoil in pain

"Watch yourself Cunningham!" Nikki teased "There's more where that came from"

"Oh really?" he said moving closer to her so their lips were almost touching

"Yes" Nikki said leaning in towards him

Harry felt his heart beat faster and faster, Nikki was so close he could smell her signature flowery perfume. They sat in that close proximity, each hardly daring to breathe. It was Harry that finally broke the silence

"I can see your split ends" he said

Nikki hit him hard on the shoulder and pulled away trying to conceal a laugh

"I hate you" she told him, but the smile on her face said otherwise "I might never get over that!"

"What can I do to make it up to you?" he asked

"Take me out for dinner somewhere posh and expensive" she teased

Harry nodded "Will a takeaway suffice?"

"I really hate you" she said trying to stifle a fit of giggles

"I know but you'll have time to tell me again through the lovely kebab I'll buy you" Harry grinned

"Oh you are splashing out" Nikki said sarcastically turning away and walking back towards the lab "It better be worth my while"

"It will be" Harry said quietly, his mood at once lifted just by Nikki's presence

"Doctor Cunningham?" Harry turned around to see Doctor Martin Smith standing behind him

"Hi" Harry said shaking hands with the older man

"I've been going through my notes from Isabelle's case file and i think there's something you should see…"

**Author's note: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while, school has been so hectic recently it's unbelievable. I'll try and get another chapter or two up this weekend but don't quote me on it!**


	13. Chapter 13

_Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all. ~Emily Dickinson_

Harry led Martin into a small side room off the corridor so they could talk more privately. They both sat down in hairs and Martin pulled out a file and flicked through it until he got to the relevant page.

"The man who was killed wasn't actually Isabelle's biological father. He was her stepfather"

"I don't understand" Harry frowned unsure of the point Martin was hinting at

"Isabelle's biological mother and father separated when she was seven years old and about that time, her mother started noticing the first symptoms of Isabelle behaving irrationally"

"So the divorce was distressing…"

Martin nodded "But not only that, her biological father was apparently violent towards her mother, numerous beatings have been recorded by the police but charges were never brought"

"Did he ever hurt Isabelle or her brother?" Harry asked

Martin shook his head "Didn't lay a finger on them. From what I can work out the beatings were done supposedly out of view from the children"

"What do you mean supposedly?"

"I think Isabelle may have witnessed her father beating her mother on numerous occasions"

Harry let out a sigh of despair "That might explain the violent behaviour"

Martin made a noise of agreement "At a young age children are very influenced by what they see adults and more specifically their parents do"

"How does this link to the case exactly?"

"Well here's the curious thing" Martin said "After you left Isabelle fell asleep. The medication she's on at the moment has been making her drowsy so that's normal. She was being watched over by Jack an she apparently had a nightmare. Now this is not unusual for Isabelle but Jack reported to me that she was talking in her sleep"

"What did she say?" Harry asked

"Most of what she was saying was incoherent but one of the phrases that was most audible and kept being repeated was 'devil daddy'"

"Devil daddy?" Harry repeated

Martin nodded "Devil daddy was what she always referred to her biological father as. Now the one an only time I have heard her mention it was when she first came to the unit and they had a group counselling session about family. As soon as Isabelle mentioned his name she became extremely hysterical and uncontrollable and after that she never mentioned it again."

"Do you think its relevant then?"

"She's been at Mayflower for six months. She hasn't mentioned his name since the first week she was here. I think its something worth looking at"

"Have the police arrested her yet?"

"No" Martin said "They've not go a strong enough case against her and she wont talk to the police. After you left a Detective Ryan and a PC Davis came to try and talk to her. Unfortunately as is usually the case when Isabelle meets strangers she started to get very worked up and ended up screaming with her hands over her ears until they went"

"Poor girl" Harry grimaced

"It is interesting though" Martin pondered

"What is?"

"Well the only time she hasn't turned hysterical when a stranger has come to see her is when you and Leo entered Mayflower. In fact I was very surprised in how much she's spoken to you" Martin told the pathologist

"What do you think is going to happen to Isabelle?"

"Realistically we need to get a statement from her. The police are going to try again tomorrow but I doubt they'll get anything out of her" Martin frowned

"Would you like me to try again?" Harry asked

"If you want to" Martin said "I know it's not exactly in your job description to do so"

"I jumped into a freezing cold river to save Isabelle, I'm not going to let her get arrested for something that she didn't potentially do" Harry said firmly

Martin smiled "There's hope for her yet then Harry"


	14. Chapter 14

_You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt. ~Author Unknown_

Harry sat in his car the next morning trying to bring himself to start the ignition and drive to Mayflower to see Isabelle. He sighed loudly for the tenth time as he couldn't get his brain and body to function in unison. A blast of cold air brought him to his senses and he looked round to see Nikki slipping in the front passenger seat beside him

"Hi?" he said looking confused as Nikki pulled the car door shut

"Hi" she said breezily

"What are you doing here?" he asked

"I'm coming with you" she said firmly "I've seen you, you're just sitting here doing nothing"

"Am not" Harry replied sulkily

Nikki rolled her eyes "Harry I want Isabelle to be as innocent as you do, but we're never going to find out unless we can get her to open up"

"Don't you think I know that" Harry snapped, a second passed before his features softened and he grasped Nikki's hand

"I know" she replied to Harry's unspoken apology " She needs all the help she can get"

"I know" Harry said taking a deep breath in and letting go of Nikki's hand

He started the ignition and they pulled away towards Mayflower and an uncertain future.

* * *

As soon as they got to the unit, Martin led Harry and Nikki through the maze of corridors and out into the small garden that was part of the unit's grounds. Nikki gazed around at the neatly cut lawn and the pruned flowerbeds which was sharply juxtaposed in their beauty with the big wire fence that surrounded the grounds.

"How's she doing?" Harry asked Martin

"She's bearing up" Martin replied "I think she's still shaken up from the visit from the police yesterday"

At this Nikki couldn't help but release an angry sigh and Harry gave her hand a gentle squeeze

They walked over to the middle of the garden where Jack was watching Isabelle a short distance away

"She's in her own little world at the moment" Jack explained as they watched the young girl

Isabelle was gently spinning round and round, humming a wordless tune to herself. Her long black skirt flicked out around her ankles with each spin and she seemed unaware of anyone else's presence in the garden

"Isabelle" Martin said slowly walking over to her

Isabelle suddenly stopped spinning and fell to the ground with a thud; the dizziness obviously getting to her head slightly. She crawled over to one of the flowerbeds and started digging in the soil with her bare hands. The adults watched her carefully as she extracted a small object from the moist peat, com0plelty unaware that she was being observed

"What have you got there Belle?" Jack said sitting beside the young girl

For the first time Isabelle was aware of the people who were watching her and clutched the item tightly to her chest

"Isabelle" Martin said crouching in front of her "Open your hands"

Isabelle frowned and bared her teeth at the doctor; suddenly her gaze fell over his shoulder to where the two pathologists were standing. Martin took this momentary distraction as an opportunity and gently prized open her hands and took out the shard of glass that she had wrapped her hands around.

As soon as Isabelle realised what had happened she threw herself to the ground and wept with a dramatic lament. Her screams and wails of despair echoed across the grounds

"Belle" Jack soothed placing a hand on her back

Isabelle shook it off and writhed away from human touch. She twisted over until she was lying on her back and suddenly her face stopped contorting and her face relaxed as she drifted off into her little world once more

"I'm sorry you had to witness that" Jack said moving away from Isabelle and towards Harry and Nikki

"Don't apologise" Harry said never taking his eyes off the girl

"She's still very worked up after the police came to see her yesterday and the doctor's have had to increase the medication she's on"

"Has she been sleeping?" Nikki asked

Jack shook his head "Not without the aid of medication" he sighed "I wish I knew what was going on in her head sometimes and I wish I could help"

"You are helping" Harry nodded "You've taken time to try and understand her, that's more than most people have done"

Isabelle suddenly disrupted the gentle silence that had fallen among the adults as she flipped onto her front and started to scream once phrase over and over again

"Devil daddy!"


	15. Chapter 15

_It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood. ~Karl Popper, Unended Quest_

It was a good ten minutes before Isabelle stopped screaming and the garden became silent again; it seemed that her fear had lasted longer than her capacity to express. it Her voice had cut out due to extended strain leaving her rolling around on the floor coughing violently

"It's okay Belle" Jack said coming to her aid

"Can't breathe" she croaked

"Look at me" Jack said gently tilting her head towards him "Just take deep breaths"

Isabelle slowly sat up and under Jack's guidance her breathing slowly returned to normal

"Where's devil daddy?" Harry asked her, crouching down in front of the girl

Isabelle clutched her head and started to rock "They're talking again" she moaned

"Concentrate on my voice" Harry said, desperately trying to keep her focus "Have you seen devil daddy recently?"

Isabelle fixed her watery gaze on the pathologists and climbed unsteadily to her feet "He was there…" she said in a trance like state "He knew I would come back…he knew"

Isabelle stumbled forward and was caught just in time by Nikki who helped the girl back up

"Daddy will make things better" Isabelle made her voice dip an octave "But you have to help daddy first" she shook her head wildly "Don't make promises with the devil, the devil makes work for idle hands"

"Isabelle" Jack said walking slowly over to her where she was still being supported by Nikki "We're going to go back inside now"

"No!" she shouted and wriggled out of Nikki's grip "I need to stay out here, he can't get me, I'm protected…"

Jack looked up at the darkening sky which threatened the group with angry looking rain clouds "It's going to rain Belle, you'll get soaked right through"

"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day" Isabelle sang, she started spinning again, humming to herself

Suddenly the humming stopped and Isabelle threw herself to the ground cowering and curling herself up into a tight ball. Nikki was nearest to her and crouched down to the ground level

"Isabelle?" she said softly

The girl poked her head up from the self-inflicted cocoon she was in "I don't know you" she said taking in Nikki's appearance

"My name's Nikki" the pathologist said

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet" Isabelle spouted and went on to finish the rest of the scene and when she had finished she looked up at Harry in the need of reassurance

"Nikki's my friend" Harry told her "She wants to help you as much as I do"

"No on can help me" Isabelle said sadly and Nikki felt her heart almost break

"Why don't we go inside" Jack said "And then we can all sit down and have a talk"

Isabelle started to protest but the nurse had a firm grip on her as he gently led her back inside just as the first drops of rain were beginning to fall

* * *

Half an hour later and Nikki and Harry were in Isabelle's room watching the young girl who just sat on the bed, humming to herself

"Isabelle" Nikki said leaning forward "Will you help me with a puzzle?"

The girl looked up and cocked her head on one side "I don't like puzzles" she frowned "They trick you…"

"You'll like this one" Nikki said encouragingly "Because you already have the answer"

Isabelle pondered what Nikki was saying before finally nodded her head in agreement

"The puzzle is called' What happened what Isabelle ran away?'"

"I can't tell you that" Isabelle said in a sing-song voice

"Yes you can" Harry nodded "I'm good at keeping secrets, I kept the one you told me about the…tongues" he stuttered over the final word as he recalled the memory

"I don't remember all of it" Isabelle shook her head

"Okay" Harry nodded "Lets start with an easy one, you told me when you ran away you went home to find some books"

Isabelle nodded "I like to read…" she mused

"What happened when you went home?" Harry asked "Was anyone at home?"

"Lights are on but no one's home" Isabelle giggled "He used to say that to me…."

"Who?" Nikki asked "Your stepfather?"

Isabelle nodded "It wasn't a very nice thing to say…"

"No" Harry agreed "Its not. Did it make you sad?"

"Yes" Isabelle said firmly "But devil daddy made it stop"

"Did you meet devil daddy at home?" Nikki questioned

Isabelle thought for a moment before nodding "He was playing hide and seek like we used to" she smiled "He told me to go inside because mum wanted to see me. She wanted me to come back home"

"Was mum at home?"

"She wasn't happy to see me…" Isabelle said sadly "She shouted a lot and then started to cry. I don't like it when people shout…."

"Where was devil daddy?"

Isabelle shrugged "He was hiding outside; he told me he was going to make things better. Devil daddy said he and mum had to sort things out…"

"How was he going to do that?"

"When mum shouted it made everyone sad so he was going to make sure she would never shout again. He said that no one would even hear her scream…"


	16. Chapter 16

_Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad. ~Aldous Huxley_

Nikki watched Harry closely as he tried to coax Isabelle into talking once more; the young girl had clammed up once more and was refusing to say anything else, still clearly traumatised from previous events

"I don't want to play this game anymore" Isabelle said from her curled up position on her bed

"I know" Harry sympathised "But we need to know what happened…"

"I can't!" Isabelle shouted and burst into a sonata of wails and sobs

In a flash Harry crouching on the floor in front of Isabelle, making gentle soothing noises to calm the girl's troubled mind. Nikki had never seen this side to Harry before, there was no sarcasm, no indifference, there was just reality without any of the smoke and mirrors Harry always covered himself in

"Nikki?" Harry said suddenly as Isabelle's sobs slowly diminished until they were gentle bleats of pain

Nikki frowned as she looked towards the door and saw PC Davis just coming in followed by a very worried looking Jack

"I need to speak to Isabelle" he was saying to the nurse

"I'm not sure this is a good time, not after the state she was in last time" Jack said as the stepped into the room

Nikki turned back to Isabelle who was now frozen to the spot; all the blood had drain from her face giving her skin an eerie translucent appearance

"I think you should wait outside" Jack said as he saw Isabelle's current state

PC Davis gave a loud sigh of annoyance and reluctantly stepped outside

"She's got an accelerated heart rate" Harry said as he checked Isabelle's pulse

"She's having a panic attack" Jack sighed "She's so susceptible to them recently"

The nurse moved slowly forward and sat down next to Isabelle on her bed, he reached out to take one of her hands but she sprang backwards, snarling and growling at him

"Isabelle you need to calm down" Jack said slowly trying to keep his voice calm

But Isabelle was having none of it and flew into a violent rage slapping away anyone that came near her, her snarls and growls filled the air and soon became piercing shrieks of anger and fear.

Harry moved to stand towards Nikki who had a mixture of distress and sympathy on her face, the nurse stepped forward to try and calm down Isabelle but the young girl interpreted his behaviour and leapt forward sinking her teeth into his outstretched hand. Jack let out a yelp of pain grimaced as he pressed the alarm he wore for safety and soon two other nurses came into the room. Isabelle shrieked when she saw them but they were too strong for her and soon had her restrained so she couldn't lash out and hurt anyone. A syringe was draw and injected into Isabelle's bare arm and soon the screams and snarls stopped as she fell limp and still

"I'm so sorry you had to witness that" a voice came from behind them and Harry and Nikki turned around to see Martin Smith standing there looking solemn "Jack are you alright?"

The nurse who was cradling his bitten hand looked up at them and nodded "I'm fine" he assured them "She was perfectly alright until that police officer came in and she just lost all control"

Martin nodded sympathetically "We'll get that cleaned up and then enter it in the accident book"

Nikki and Harry moved to one side as Isabelle's limp form was carried out by one of the nurses, the girl looked so peaceful just lying there in a sedated sleep

"I'm going to sit with Isabelle afterwards" Jack said firmly before turning to Harry and Nikki "They're taking her to a special room where she can't hurt herself"

"You don't have to do that Jack" Martin said as he led them all out of the room

"She didn't mean to do it" Jack said gesturing to his hand "And anyway she gets so frightened when she has to wake up on her own" he said as he made his way down the corridor until he was out of sight

"His dedication is admirable" Nikki commented

Martin smiled "He's been looking after Isabelle since she came here; he was devastated when she went missing. Jack would spend hours searching the streets just holding out hope that he would spot her"

"He never gives up on her, no matter how frightened she gets" Harry said

"Unfortunately the rest of the world has" Martin sighed loudly "PC Davis was here for a reason. They're going to charge Isabelle for murder"

**Author's note: I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in a while, school has been hectic as usual and I've had tons of work to do and secondly I've been trying to work out what route I want this story to take and believe me it's not been all that easy, so I hope you can bear with me and I can get the old muse going again**


	17. Chapter 17

_Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe_

Leo was just walking out of his office when he spotted a very despondent looking Harry and Nikki stepping into the lab

"How did it go?" he asked although he could already tell from the hopeless looks on their faces

"They're charging Isabelle for murder" Nikki said quietly

"Have the police got enough evidence?" Leo asked looking sceptical

"Of course they haven't!" Harry snapped "But when has that ever stopped them before. Isabelle's card was marked as soon as they found out about her mental health"

"There's still hope for her" Nikki said, her voice silent out a plea to Harry "Martin is going to try and appeal against it, he's going to try and plea for diminished responsibility" she told Leo who nodded, obviously deep in thought

"Do you know what makes me most angry about this?" Harry said, without waiting for their answer he continued "They're overlooking who the victim is in all of this. It's not the three bodies lying in the morgue fridges, it's the terrified little girl sitting in that room, she doesn't know what's happened to her or what lies ahead for her…"

Harry was unable to finish his sentence and it was just left hanging as a wave of anger, he stormed out the lab, slamming the doors behind him

"He's been like that ever since we left the unit" Nikki sighed gently

"He was so hoping she didn't do it" Leo said softly

"She didn't Leo" Nikki said looking up at him "I don't know what went on that night but I know that Isabelle did not kill those people"

Leo looked at Nikki and saw something in those deep brown eyes that convinced him that Nikki was so assured about Isabelle's innocence that it couldn't have been her that did it. However all that left them with was a crime without a suspect and the only one that could tell them about it was a victim of her own thoughts.

* * *

Harry hastily picked up the bottle and sloshed some more of the brown liquid into a glass. He knew that getting drunk wasn't going to help Isabelle but right now he couldn't see a way of helping her at all. He knew that Isabelle didn't do it; he just had to find the evidence to show the rest of the world that. A sudden ringing roused him out of his thoughts and he looked over to his phone which was flashing, he looked over at the number and felt his body jolt back into reality when he saw the caller ID.

"Martin?" he said into the phone, cursing the obvious anxiety in his voice

"Harry, can you get down to Mayflower right away?" Matins' strained voice came through the line "Isabelle's gone missing"

* * *

Mayflower took on a while other appearance at night, the block building looked almost threatening lighted only by the sickly glow of the moon and the tall wire fences didn't help ease the discomfort that Harry was feeling

"Harry?" a voice called and he turned to see Jack standing there, clearly waiting to meet him.

The young nurse looked worried sick and was shivering slightly in the cold air, Harry noticed that he had a bandage round his hand and was reminded of the events from earlier that day

"How did she get out?" Harry said as Jack led him though the maze of corridors that seemed as confusing to the pathologist as the first time he had sat foot in the unit

"She was recovering in the seclusion room" Jack said and Harry noticed the nurse glance at his bandaged hand "We were waiting for the sedation to wear off and her to calm down before we let her back into the rest of the unit. About an hour ago Martin said she was fit to leave and go back to her room, I took her there and went to get her medication. When I got back she had vanished"

"How though?" Harry asked

Jack let out a watery chuckle and for the first time Harry noticed that the nurse's eyes were red raw from crying "She's a sharp one when she wants to be, this is not the first time she's gotten out and she's obviously worked out a way of bypassing all the systems"

"So she's been gone about n hour?" Harry asked and Jack nodded "Has anyone called the police?"

Jack nodded "PC Davis is coming" he spat as they stopped outside of Martin's office and waited to be let inside. Martin greeted them, looking more dishevelled and worried than Harry had ever seen. He filled Harry in on all the details but Harry could see he was holding something back. Eventually Martin stood up and pushed a crumpled brown enveloped into Harry's hands

"I don't understand?" Harry said looking quizzically at the envelope

"This is what she left when she made a run for it" Jack explained "It's addressed to you Harry" he added softly

Trying to force down the rising nausea that was stemming from his apprehension, Harry opened the envelope and pulled out the creased sheet inside and forced himself to read on

_Dear Harry,_

_If you are reading this then I won't be here for much longer, you won't have to worry about me anymore or put your job on the line for a worthless stranger like me. I remembered Harry, when I woke up from my sedated sleep; I remembered what happened that night. It's too terrible to put down in words and I cant live with myself now I finally know the truth, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you this face to face, these words are the only way I can speak the truth without being held prisoner by my mind. I'm sorry Harry, you stood by me for so long when others have walked away, but all your attempts were in vain. Please forget all about me and go back to your life and pretend you never met me. It will be better for all of us Harry; I've hurt too many people and now I'm going to put it right. I will never forget your kind words though you should forget all that I have said to you_

_Isabelle _


	18. Chapter 18

_The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. ~Author Unknown_

The room was filled with a heavy silence as Harry finished reading out the letter to all those who were present. PC Davis had joined them, much to Harry's disgust and was now standing in the corner with a nasty sneer on his face

"Some people just can't be helped" he said as Harry folded the letter back up "You should have left her there in the river when she jumped"

"I was not going to stand by and watch and innocent life be taken" Harry spat "I'm not a murderer!"

"She is though" PC Davis said nastily "And she will pay for what she's done when we catch up with her"

"All the evidence is circumstantial" Martin said speaking up "And you haven't taken into account her mental health"

"People like that should be locked up and the key throw away" the officer said with a repulsive sneer on his face

"Isabelle is a kind and sweet girl" Jack said, the emotion in his voice evident to al that were listening

"Is that why she bit you?" Davis questioned, smirking slightly

"That was not her fault" Jack said defensibly "She's been through a majorly traumatic experience and you didn't exactly help matters by turning up out of the blue like that and scaring her"

"Enough!" Martin said standing up and shooting a loaded looked at Jack who immediately took some deep breaths to calm himself down "Right now my main concern is finding Isabelle. She hasn't had her medication yet so we can probably assume her state of mind isn't going to be entirely rational. She's going to be very frightened and very vulnerable. We need to try and work out where she's gone, that's our main priority. Then we can start to shift the blame"

"Do you think she's gone back home?" Harry asked

Jack shook his head "No, she doesn't feel safe there, Isabelle is clearly very frightened so she'll go to a place that she feels is safe and reassures her"

"Somewhere close to nature" Martin mused "From what I can establish, Isabelle feels safe when she is outside or is surrounded by nature. It makes her feel at peace with herself and does wonders to calm her down" he explained to Harry who nodded

"She was by a river when I first met her" Harry reminded everyone

"That makes sense" Martin nodded "Her suicide attempts are all about her trying to regain some control. Therefore she would go to a place where she feels safe; she doesn't have to feel any fear which would make her feel out of control of her emotions. By choosing her own special place she can for once be in control of how she feels"

PC Davis made a noise of contempt but was silenced by a stern look from Martin

"Do you think she's gone to the same place again?" Harry asked referring to Isabelle's suicide note

"It's a start at least" Martin said as he stood up "And as the police don't seem too willing to help us, I think we'd better go ourselves"

"I can't let you do that" PC Davis said standing up "You might try and help her escape"

"Isabelle is my patient" Martin said firmly "And I'll be dammed if I let anything happen to her" he pushed past the officer and was followed swiftly by Jack and Harry. Each of them were hoping that they could fin Isabelle before she did anything drastic

* * *

The moon was high in the sky now as the group made their way down the riverbank and towards the bridge. Unfortunately PC Davis had managed to catch up worth them and was determined he was going to arrest Isabelle when they found her and anyone else who tried to get in the way. As he looked at the murky waters that were lit up by the sickly light of the moon, Harry remembered the first time he had met Isabelle, what happened only a couple of days ago seemed like months.

"Look!" Martin said suddenly as he pointed up to the bridge

Standing on the edge was a dark figure swaying back and forth as they looked up at the moon. Harry recognised Isabelle's figure immediately and felt his heart rise in his mouth as they crept forward so as not to scare her

"Belle?" Jack called as they got onto the bridge

Harry looked at the young girl and saw her eyes had glazed over, she hadn't taken her dosage of medication and she was fully in a trance like state. The swaying got more and more erratic as she hummed tunelessly to herself

"Isabelle" Martin called as he stepped forward

The girl's head snapped around and she started as she saw the group watching her. She let out a little shriek and took a step closer to the edge of the bridge

"Stay there Isabelle" Harry called out before he even realised he had vocalised his thoughts

Isabelle seemed to snap out of her trance as she heard Harry's voice and she suddenly burst into tears "I remembered" she sobbed

Harry took a step forward closer to Isabelle so he was almost touching her "It doesn't matter" he told her "It doesn't matter what happened that night, we can help you"

Isabelle shook her head "No one can help me" she wept and turned her head back so she was looking out across the water "Because I could no stop for death, he kindly stopped for me…"

"No!" Harry shouted as she stepped closer to the edge, it looked like the smallest amount of force would send her toppling over into the murky depths

"Screw this" PC Davis said pushing past Harry "She's beyond help" he spat climbing up to where Isabelle was standing "And she is going to face up to what she's done"

The next few moments seemed to flash by for Harry, PC Davis grabbed Isabelle roughly by the arm in an attempt to pull her down and arrest her. Isabelle screeched at the sudden human contact and the shouting in her face from the officer. She tried to pull away from him but his grip was too strong. They were both standing on the edge now and the imbalance of forces from both parties was too much. Both Isabelle and PC Davis tumbled over the edge of the bridge into the dark unwelcoming water below.


	19. Chapter 19

_If I had to sum up Friendship in one word, it would be Comfort. ~Adabella Radici_

Leo and Nikki pulled on their white suits given to them at the crime scene and made their way down to the river bank. Leo had been called out early that morning to an incident and as soon as he heard the specifics of the case he had phoned Nikki up to attend as well. They made their way carefully onto the riverbank where a police officer was standing by a form covered by a red blanket.

"Home Office Pathologists" Leo said as they flashed their passes at the officer who nodded and let them duck under the tape cordoning off the body

Leo crouched down beside the blanket and gently removed it away to reveal the cold, stony face of PC Davis

* * *

Nearby the crime scene, Harry stood looking out over the river. The day was calm and peaceful, such a juxtaposition to the previous night's events

"Harry?" a voice called and he turned to see Nikki standing beside him, closely followed by Leo "I'm so glad you're okay" she said pulling him into a hug, which lasted a little too long for it to just be dubbed friendly. Something which didn't go unnoticed by Leo

"What happened?" Leo said as they led Harry back to the warmth of Nikki's car, the pathologist was shivering and they weren't sure if it was from the cold or the nights events

"We found Isabelle up on the bridge" Harry explained as he moved into the welcoming warmth of Nikki's car "She apparently remembered what happened and was determined to end her life because of it. We were trying to talk her down but PC Davis butted in and tried to grab her. They both just went over the bridge so quickly…" his sentence was left hanging as he stuttered to try and find the words to finish it

Nikki leant over Harry and draped a soft blanket she's extracted from the boot of her car around the shaking man's shoulders

"Jack and I went in to try and get them" Harry explained "Isabelle was closest to us and Martin helped us pull her out"

"Was she hurt?" Leo asked

Harry shook his head "Maybe a couple of cuts and bruises but more soaked than anything. When we got PC Davis out he was already dead…"

Leo nodded "He has a head injury, probably struck his head on something at the bottom f the river. It would have killed him instantly even if the water inhalation didn't"

"Thank heaven for small mercies" Nikki said but was reprimanded by a strong look from Leo who mouthed the word 'professionalism' at her

"Where's Isabelle now?" Nikki asked

"They've taken her back to the unit" Harry said "They're going to get a doctor to check her over there. The poor thing was so tired she was practically falling asleep in my arms"

"She's not the only one who's exhausted" Leo said nothing the fatigue that cast a shadow over Harry's face

"I need to see Isabelle" Harry protested

"You need sleep" Nikki told him "You can go and see her when you're refreshed. You're no use to her in this state"

"Is that an order?" Harry chuckled softly

"Yes" Nikki said firmly but the smile on her face gave her tone away

As the two pathologists looked across at Harry who had suddenly fallen silent, they saw he had dropped off to sleep, looking more peaceful than he had in days

"Take him home Nikki" Leo said as they shut the car door quietly, careful not to wake Harry

Nikki nodded and stole one more glance at the sleeping man before starting up the engine and moving away from the riverbank just as a watery sun began to rise over London.


	20. Chapter 20

_Our most difficult task as a friend is to offer understanding when we don't understand. ~Robert Brault,_

The next thing Harry saw when he opened his eyes were beams of sunlight streaming through his window, lighting up what would otherwise have been a gloomy London afternoon. He yawned widely as he swung his legs out of bed, running a hand through his messy brown hair as he did so. Making his way out of his bedroom he was pleasantly surprised to see Nikki curled up on his sofa, flicking through one of his aviation magazines

"Afternoon" she said cheerfully, putting the magazine down on the coffee table

"How long was I sleep for?" Harry said stifling another yawn

"A good seven hours"

"And you didn't think to wake me!" Harry groaned as he saw the time on the clock

"You needed the sleep" Nikki told him gently

"I needed to see Isabelle" Harry told her a little more forcefully than he had intended to

Nikki just rolled her eyes at him and stood up making her way over to his kitchen area, where she fumbled around in his cupboard before pulling out two fairly clean mugs

"Tea or coffee?" she said cheerfully

* * *

Leo walked into his office holding two steaming mugs which he set down on the desk in front of him. He looked across at his companion who smiled tiredly at him before taking a sip of the hot liquid

"You need some sleep" Leo said noting the rapidly appearing dark circles under Martin's eyes

"You can talk" Martin chuckled "I'm not that old Leo, I can get by with a few hours sleep a night"

The two of them sat in companionable silence before Leo broke stillness by asking the inevitable question

"What's going to happen to Isabelle now?"

Martin sighed loudly as he put the mug down on the desk "The police are going to want to question her about what happened on the bridge and of course they're going to eventually talk to her about what she remembers from when she ran away. But all in good time, we don't need to push her so forcefully, doing that would only have repercussions of last night's events"

"How is she?"

Martin smiled "Bearing up, Jack's been with her and the poor thing was so exhausted she fell asleep straight away without any need for medication. She's just sleeping off the events of the last couple of weeks which is what she needs really; rest, calm and a little bit of understanding"

"Don't we all" Leo said and Martin laughed quietly to himself before the conversation turned to a much more happier topic of discussion

* * *

Nikki sat on Harry's sofa watching the pathologist carefully, he had been very quiet, in fact a little too quiet for Nikki's liking and it had been hours since she heard him make a sarcastic comment or a quip at something she said

"Talk to me" she said finally after an air of hush had settled over the two pathologists

"I can't" Harry's voice came out as a hoarse whisper "You won't understand"

"Try me" was all that Nikki said

And so Harry launched into an in-depth retelling of all the emotions he had kept bottled up since his father's death. Nikki had been right when she'd though that Isabelle's suicide attempts had stirred memories deep inside of Harry. When the man had finally verbalised all the thoughts that had been rolling around in his head for years, they fell into a silence once more which was only broken by Nikki taking Harry into her arms and comforting the silent tears which threatened to fall

"What did I do to deserve a friend like you?" he whispered and Nikki laughed

"You're getting soppy in your old age" she teased

"You're so good all of the time" he continued "You understand me when the world thinks I'm talking in riddles"

"And I put up with all of your stupid jokes…"

"They're actually rather good jokes" Harry said sitting up and frowning

"Really?" Nikki questioned "Are you absolutely sure because I think they're really not that great. I think that they're actually rather stup-"

Nikki was cut off as Harry pressed his lips against her; the kiss was forceful but had an air of tenderness about it that Nikki knew that only Harry could muster up. She knew that she might later come to reject the kiss and that they probably had overstepped the boundary of friendship, but right now she didn't care, all she could concentrate on was Harry's lips locked firmly against hers and the tingle of excitement that ran through her body as a result


End file.
